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Topic Review (Newest First)

01-13-2011 09:33 PM

adantessr

Quote:

Originally Posted by crussell85

Nope I didn't know that never worked on an Inline 6 before. The only Inline six I have ever even touched it the one in my dads Jeep Wrangler but we've never been inside of the engine.

Well now you know that you'll have a tool that can do 'em all. Good buy by the way.

01-13-2011 09:29 PM

crussell85

Nope I didn't know that never worked on an Inline 6 before. The only Inline six I have ever even touched it the one in my dads Jeep Wrangler but we've never been inside of the engine.

01-13-2011 09:21 PM

adantessr

Quote:

Originally Posted by crussell85

all the tool application says is for a sbc, is a 4.3 liter or any other v6 considered a small block chevy? I'm not going to send the tool back to them though. I paid like 32 bucks for the tool and it would probably cost me like 10 bucks shipping to send it back so I would only get about 20 bucks or so back out of it. The tool is packaged in a molded plastic, not a case just a disposable plastic used for the sale of the item. There is no mold in the plastic for an extension bar. I will call them tomorrow and tell them what they are selling is misleading and I am not very pleased about it. The snap on tool I purchased does come with an extension bar but the main bar is long enough to reach all the way through to the #5 bearing and still have like 6 or 8 inches sticking out the front of the block. The extension bar must be for big blocks maybe? I think for a hundred bucks it was a good investment. My machine shop charges 25 bucks to install all 5 bearings. So I have four more engines to build before I start saving money with it.

The extension bar with the snap on tool is for inline sixes . You knew that , it just slipped your mind from having small block on the brain . LOL

01-13-2011 09:14 PM

crussell85

all the tool application says is for a sbc, is a 4.3 liter or any other v6 considered a small block chevy? I'm not going to send the tool back to them though. I paid like 32 bucks for the tool and it would probably cost me like 10 bucks shipping to send it back so I would only get about 20 bucks or so back out of it. The tool is packaged in a molded plastic, not a case just a disposable plastic used for the sale of the item. There is no mold in the plastic for an extension bar. I will call them tomorrow and tell them what they are selling is misleading and I am not very pleased about it. The snap on tool I purchased does come with an extension bar but the main bar is long enough to reach all the way through to the #5 bearing and still have like 6 or 8 inches sticking out the front of the block. The extension bar must be for big blocks maybe? I think for a hundred bucks it was a good investment. My machine shop charges 25 bucks to install all 5 bearings. So I have four more engines to build before I start saving money with it.

01-13-2011 07:58 PM

adantessr

Quote:

Originally Posted by crussell85

I purchased a cam bearing installation tool from Summit along with a set of new cam bearings. Here is the tool http://www.summitracing.com/parts/AAF-ALL96470/ it almost seems to me that the tool is to short. It says it is for installing cam bearings in a small block chevy. Is a V6 considered a small block chevy? If you enlarge the picture at the link you can see the grip part on the handle, if the alignment bushing would slide up past them dimples on the handle then the tool would be long enough. I can get all but the front and rear bearings installed. I even tried sliding the alignment bushing off from the shaft and place it further in the block to use the inner cam bearings to align the shaft but I couldn't get it to lay down in there any way I turned it. The block is a 93 sbc 350 with a 1 piece rear main, do the older blocks have a larger cam tunnel or anything like that. Here are some measurements on the tool.

Overall length of shaft is 24"
Length from where the bearing butts against the bushing to around center of the taper on the alignment bushing is slid as far back as it will go until it hits the dimples on the handle is 18 7/16"

I didn't have the machine shop install the bearings because when I seen this tool I figured for just a few more dollars I could have the tool to do it. It would have cost me 25 bucks to have the bearings installed. Any suggestions on this besides telling me to have the shop do it would be appreciated. I am interested in owning a good cam bearing tool because this will NOT be the only time I use it and if anyone has any recommendations for a certain one throw me a link.

I should have looked at the specs on this tool before my other comment . They short changed you on this tool . It should have come with an extension for doing the end bearings. 18-7/16" is definitely not long enough. Grrrrr. I'd call the people at Summit and talk to one of their techs and let them know that what they are selling does not do the job that it is advertised to do. I would definitely not be happy.

01-13-2011 07:49 PM

adantessr

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericnova72

I think Scholman has you pointed in the right direction, you'll have to take it apart and put the cone in the cam tunnel and then reassemble.

After looking at a few of the low buck cam bearing tools for ideas, and then making my own, I fixed that situation by making a 3 foot long drive rod for mine, I can install the front bearing and still have 6"+ of rod sticking out of the rear of the block.

From the front of the block install the rear position, #4 position, #3 position bearings,... then turn block around and from the rear install the front bearing and #2 position bearings. The farther the alignment cone is from the drive head the more accurrate the bearing alignment will be, preventing cocked bearings, and the order I gave will minimize the number of times you have to disassemble your tool inside the block.

Don't forget oil hole alignment, for SBC it has to be over the groove, and the preferred clocking is to have the oil hole in single hole bearings at 4o'clock as looking at the block from the front and in the upright position, to put the oil into the bearing before the peak load, which is straight down. Oil hole in bearing aligned with oil hole in block(at 6 o'clock) is not the correct method.

The alignment cone never needs to go inside the block. I have personally installed many sets of cam bearings. The second half of your post is dead on . That way the tool only needs assembled inside the block once and disassembled inside the block once. Definitely best done with the crankshaft removed. It is not that hard to hold the cone tight up against the outside of the block with your hand that is holding the bar.

01-13-2011 07:24 PM

crussell85

Okay, I found a used Snap-On cam bearing installation tool used on Craig's list for $100. It seems to be in good shape. The guy I bought it from said I should be able to install cam bearings in just about anything I ever work on, he wasn't sure about the newer stuff or imports. While I was there though we got talking and I also bought this from him brand spankin new in the box for $35.00 http://www.summitracing.com/parts/RM...n/?prefilter=0 not sure what I am going to do with it yet but for 35 bucks it was going from his shelf to mine.

01-11-2011 08:52 PM

crussell85

I agree with the cheap tools thing. I just thought.........well I guess I didn't. I agree that the cone piece is supposed to end up in the tunnel. I think it is made to install the inner bearing first using the taper on the outside of the block because the cone piece if turned around has the provisions to hold a bearing just like the bushing on the bearing end of the tool. So I would imagine that your are supposed to install the inner bearing with the cone on the outside of the block then turn the bushing around and slide it into an installed bearing and use it for the alignment of the outer bearings. I just can't get the damned thing to fit down into the cam tunnel. I will mess with it a little more tomorrow after work and post what I figure out or don't figure out. Maybe I will just sharpen the end of the shaft and have a nice stake.

01-11-2011 08:23 PM

ericnova72

Quote:

Originally Posted by crussell85

Yes I know the cam bearings are different sizes, if the bearings are marked correctly and the installation sheet that the bearings came with is correct then I am on the right track for that. I just can't get the tool in place to install the outer bearings. I have tried to place the taper bushing inside of the engine in the cam tunnel but I can't get it to fit. I have tried it everywhere in the cam tunnel.

The one I made has no cone on the guide piece, that makes the piece small enough it can be put into the cam tunnel. You may need to have that cone cut off yours.

Looks like you are finding out some of the particularities of budget "home user" grade machine shop tools. They are always just a bit less quality and engineering. In your case, like several I have looked at in the years since I made my driver, the rod is just too short.

01-11-2011 08:16 PM

ericnova72

I think Scholman has you pointed in the right direction, you'll have to take it apart and put the cone in the cam tunnel and then reassemble.

After looking at a few of the low buck cam bearing tools for ideas, and then making my own, I fixed that situation by making a 3 foot long drive rod for mine, I can install the front bearing and still have 6"+ of rod sticking out of the rear of the block.

From the front of the block install the rear position, #4 position, #3 position bearings,... then turn block around and from the rear install the front bearing and #2 position bearings. The farther the alignment cone is from the drive head the more accurrate the bearing alignment will be, preventing cocked bearings, and the order I gave will minimize the number of times you have to disassemble your tool inside the block.

Don't forget oil hole alignment, for SBC it has to be over the groove, and the preferred clocking is to have the oil hole in single hole bearings at 4o'clock as looking at the block from the front and in the upright position, to put the oil into the bearing before the peak load, which is straight down. Oil hole in bearing aligned with oil hole in block(at 6 o'clock) is not the correct method.

01-11-2011 08:07 PM

crussell85

Yes I know the cam bearings are different sizes, if the bearings are marked correctly and the installation sheet that the bearings came with is correct then I am on the right track for that. I just can't get the tool in place to install the outer bearings. I have tried to place the taper bushing inside of the engine in the cam tunnel but I can't get it to fit. I have tried it everywhere in the cam tunnel.

01-11-2011 08:04 PM

68NovaSS

Scholman has you on the right road; you also know the bearings are different sizes?

01-11-2011 07:23 PM

scholman

crussell85,

My thought is to remove the alignment taper and install it inside the engine at the second bearing. Then install the bar through the tapper then back to the last bearing. You would still be able to hit the bar but holding the taper tight against the block will be a hand full. If this were mine I would install the inner
bearings first. Check to see if the cam fits after EACH BEARING has been installed. If it is in at a cocked angle the cam will not turn and you will need to adjust it if possible. After the easy ones have been hammered in take the driver end off the bar and using a brass hammer and the driver end install the end bearings. Install the front one first and then try the cam again. Then install the last bearing in the same manner. AGAIN CHECK FOR FIT AFTER EACH BEARING HAS BEEN INSTALLED.
There are other things to watch for but this is how I would use this tool.

Scholman
Retired

01-11-2011 06:34 PM

crussell85

cam bearing tool, help

I purchased a cam bearing installation tool from Summit along with a set of new cam bearings. Here is the tool http://www.summitracing.com/parts/AAF-ALL96470/ it almost seems to me that the tool is to short. It says it is for installing cam bearings in a small block chevy. Is a V6 considered a small block chevy? If you enlarge the picture at the link you can see the grip part on the handle, if the alignment bushing would slide up past them dimples on the handle then the tool would be long enough. I can get all but the front and rear bearings installed. I even tried sliding the alignment bushing off from the shaft and place it further in the block to use the inner cam bearings to align the shaft but I couldn't get it to lay down in there any way I turned it. The block is a 93 sbc 350 with a 1 piece rear main, do the older blocks have a larger cam tunnel or anything like that. Here are some measurements on the tool.

Overall length of shaft is 24"
Length from where the bearing butts against the bushing to around center of the taper on the alignment bushing is slid as far back as it will go until it hits the dimples on the handle is 18 7/16"

I didn't have the machine shop install the bearings because when I seen this tool I figured for just a few more dollars I could have the tool to do it. It would have cost me 25 bucks to have the bearings installed. Any suggestions on this besides telling me to have the shop do it would be appreciated. I am interested in owning a good cam bearing tool because this will NOT be the only time I use it and if anyone has any recommendations for a certain one throw me a link.